I'm not sure what you think a veteran big man is going to do that all the coaches Bargnani has had over his entire career, as well as guys like Nesterovic, and Moses Malone, who tutored him in the summer of 2009, have done. Before you make broad assumptions, ensure you know what you are talking about. By the time a player gets to the NBA, team defense should be mostly instinctual. And by the time you get to year five, you should really know what you're doing. Coaching, mentoring and all the things that people keep saying the Raptors should do to teach Bargnani how to play team defense won't do any good if the player simply don't have it in him to play good team defense.

Ed Davis, right now, is a better team defender than Bargnani is. Besides, there are more than enough good coaches on the team that can show him the finer points of team defense in the NBA. That's what coaches are for.

i asked a simple question... i did not make any assumptions so dont act like a douchebag and make statements like this when people ask questions on an internet forum.

when did i say patrick ewing wasnt involved ? the point was ur not going to pull a 45 year old HOF'er out of retirement to mentor bargs are you ?

guys like foyle and battie were THERE PLAYING and PRACTICING...with dwight

dont be a bitch and put words in other people's mouths.... everyone knows thats a bitch move...

you said battie didnt... i said he did and provided the link... take it like a man and STFU

Why wouldn't you have a future HOF to mentor a current player? I don't know why you wouldn't. Obviously that player has done well enough to be considered a future HOF. Why wouldn't you want that retired player with all that wisdom to inpart that knowledge? They've been through the wars and the pressure situations. Guys like Foyle and Battie are just practice fodder. They wouldn't know or how to deal with being in pressure situations and being counted upon - because they wouldn't be out there in pressure situations.

Anyways, way to be classy with the cursing and name calling. Show some maturity.

Howard's mentors weren't Battie or Foyle - the Magic signed Ewing as an coach to help him out.

I don't think there are too many big men out there (playing sense) that would help this team. If the Raptors are going to sign a big man coach, they should hire some with a lot of smarts, a cerebrial kind of player.. like Sabonis.. or Divac.

right mango kid... lets hire kareem to join the raps and suit up and play all 82 games and practice with the raps...

Howard's mentors weren't Battie or Foyle - the Magic signed Ewing as an coach to help him out.

I don't think there are too many big men out there (playing sense) that would help this team. If the Raptors are going to sign a big man coach, they should hire some with a lot of smarts, a cerebrial kind of player.. like Sabonis.. or Divac.

Legalize-It wrote:

Battie might be most valuable for the Nets off of the court. After the trade, Dwight Howard let it be known that he looked up to Battie as sort of a big brother, and he was partly responsible for his development in the league. Everyone who talks about Battie seems to love his professionalism and there could be worse guys mentoring Brook. Shoot, he could even get to Sean Williams. Doubtful, but still…

yea... so im not sure did howard say battie and foyle really helped him develop or no ?

you want more sources ? go check out dwight's blog and search for adonis foyle -

When you practice with guys on your team day in and out, you do learn stuff. Obviously, with Dwight being a rookie and sophmore, when you practice against elderstatesmen on your team, you do learn things, but there's a reason the Magic brought in Patrick Ewing to be a coach - to mentor Dwight.

hey mango kid, which HOF'er can we get to join the raptors to teach andrea some stuff ?

who do you have in mind ?? how bout bill russell ?? or wilt chamberlain ?? bill walton ?? yea those are all real possibilities to not only join the raptors but to travel and practice with the team... maybe wilt champberlain can play too ??

hey mango kid, which HOF'er can we get to join the raptors to teach andrea some stuff ?

who do you have in mind ?? how bout bill russell ?? or wilt chamberlain ?? bill walton ?? yea those are all real possibilities to not only join the raptors but to travel and practice with the team... maybe wilt champberlain can play too ??

omg maybe he could start and we could move bargs to the 4 !!

does anyone have bc's phone number ?

So who are the examples of players the Raptors could bring in? You still haven't provided them, you just seem to be dancing around the question.

Why are you caught up with the notion of the Raptors having to bring in active players to teach?

yea i know what you mean... but my criticism is not directed at bargs... it is directed at BC.

at the same time i dont think a summer with rasho or malone is going to do anything.... he needed a veteran to practice and travel with the team and talk to bargs on the bench during games...

we owed that to our number 1 pick...

players who come from europe usually have played a different style and that is why its not so instinctual.

tim do you agree though that maybe in barg's rookie year, if we had a vet who had played north american style ball, he could have taught bargs the way to defend north american style, and bargs probably wouldnt have been so lost from the beginning ?

Bargnani had two years playing with Nesterovic, who won a Championship as the starting center on the Spurs, one of the best defensive teams of the last decade. I'm not sure what more you can ask for.

And the point is that you can't simply teach someone team defense. You can show them what they are supposed to do, but it's really up to them to make it instinctual. And what is a veteran big man going to do that a coach can't? A coach is there to teach.

Legalize-It wrote:

i asked a simple question... i did not make any assumptions so dont act like a douchebag and make statements like this when people ask questions on an internet forum.

Kind of what you said here...

Legalize-It wrote:

maybe next time do some research before responding...

And you didn't really ask a question as much as tried to point out how obvious it should be that Colangelo hasn't brought in a veteran big man to show Bargnani team defense when a) he has, and b) it's the assistant coaches job to do that and c) nothing anyone does is going to teach Bargnani something that he hasn't been able to learn in four years in the NBA.